Rediscover Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Rediscover Tokyo 2020 Olympics presentation was held on September 29th, 2017 (Friday) from 11:45 to 1:00pm, at University Business Center, Room PB191. The speaker was Akira Ichioka, the Consulate- General of Japan in San Francisco and the Director of Japan Information and Cultural Center.

The 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games is a great opportunity for people around the world to rediscover Tokyo. The presentation offered an in –depth look into Tokyo, a city with a unique blend of tradition and modernity, by introducing various aspects of its society, culture and history. The presentation also informed the audience of the vision and the ongoing preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Games.

He introduced the tradition and nature, transportations, cultures, foods, arts and many more of Tokyo. Tokyo is a city with the population of 13.7 million and it is also the capital and center of politic and economy with more than 3000 companies in Japan. He described Tokyo with these words: safe, clean, gourmet, trendy, crowded, expensive and urban. “Tokyo is a place that you could travel without worrying you will lost your personal belonging, especially wallet or purse” he said. Your lost wallet is most likely to be found and returned in Tokyo.

As Tokyo is preparing to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games- the largest sporting event on the planet, attracting athletes from more than 200 countries, a great deal of thought will go into breaking down the language barriers that inevitably arise. Therefore, they create the universally understood pictograms that communicate the same message to everyone who sees them. They have been putting a lot of efforts in order to make this upcoming Olympic Games successful. The 1964 Tokyo Olympic was a turning point for Japan. Among the many infrastructure projects, the biggest project is the Shinkansen bullet train. Other than that, Haneda airport was modernized, and several highways, subway lines, express ways are built. The 1964 Games was a huge sporting success for Japan, they won 16 gold medals, five silvers, and 8 bronze. The term” Olympic Economy” came out at that time as growing middle class rushed to buy television sets to watch the games.

A question comes to our mind, “What would be the impact of the upcoming Tokyo Olympic 2020?”. It is expected to have positive effects on Japan’s economy, especially in the tourism industry. Japanese will also gain confidence on many aspects of their country as Olympic 2020 is something they can be proud of.

Tokyo is a city is one of the most vibrant cities in the world. This upcoming Olympic Game will show us the advancement, unique cultures, and most importantly, the spirit of the athletes from all over the world.